Women's Secret Language- Nu shu.

Language used.The language used, is a local dialect known as Xiangnan Tuhua, which is spoken by people in a part of Hunan Province. This dialect differs from other languages or dialects spoken in the rest of Hunan Province, it is known as "Dong language". The only written version of this language is through nu shu. As to how it is classified- some experts say it is Xuang Chinese or Pinghua, others say it is a hybrid language. It is phonetic, using sounds, unlike Chinese script which is logographic, symbols of ideas making up an word (Chinese was first pictographic, then as it developed, ideographic). It is a simplified version of Chinese- the tones are largely ignored, as they were not used in the Tuhua dialect.

Features of the script are : fine, thread-like lines are considered the epitomy of nu shu expertise. The script is altered or elongated to fit embroidery patterns. The symbols are between 600-700 in number. Sometimes the symbols are skewed, or are a mirror image, and the strokes are dots, arcs and horizontals. It is like an italic version of Chinese.

Origins.The origins of nu shu are not clear. Because it is based on the Chinese script hanzi, which was standardised in AD 900, we assume that it was "invented" after that date. It has only been in recent times that Chinese women have been taught to read and write and obtain an education, like their brothers. Even so, education of any kind was for the wealthy classes : most people were illiterate. But there were always women who could read and write, and their poetry and prose is testament to this.

Laotongs/Laotangs: Sworn Sisters. In China, women often call each other "Sister", but in times past, in Hunan Province, there was a practice which took friendship even deeper. A "Laotong" was a sworn sister, also called "old same". Two girls were joined as sworn sisters, a legal document cementing this relationship. After marriage, the relationship could be dissolved, and another laotong sought. Much like a marriage broker, a suitable " laotong" was sought for a girl with the help of a someone outside the families, who was paid for her services. Though the relationship could be broken, it most often was not, with the two women remaining friends until death.

Nu shu works. Works showing nu shu have endured. They are mostly " third day missives", clothbound books created by one laotong to give to her sworn sister on her marriage. They give best wishes for future life as a married women. Others are embroideries and weavings.

Recent history. Studies of the form and patterns of the language show that it reached it's peak during the Qing Dynasty ( 1644-1911). As women became more able to leave their homes, footbinding was banned, social and political changes meant that women did not need their special language. Young women did not learn it, and the writers of nu shu died out. It's use was forbidden during the Japanese Occupation of China (1930s and 40s), as it was thought it could be used to send secret messages. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), it was also banned because of it's connection to old ways .

How did information about this written language become better known? It was an official at the Cultural Office in Jianglong, in the 1980s, who researched it, and wrote a report about it. In 2004, the last original nu shu writer died.It exists today because some academics learned to write it before the last nu shu writers ( Yang Huanyi) died.

Gao Xinxian. Gao was one of the last nu shu speakers and writers. She was one of seven nu shu " sisters" from Jiangyong County, Hunan Province. She started to learn nu shu at the age of three, with another girl, Yang Huanyi. Her life was not easy- her daughter was beaten to death by Japanese soldiers- but she found solace in nu shu, as it gave her a way of expressing her grief. In later years, she wrote many articles about nu shu, some of which are in English. Her granddaughter Hue Mei Yue is a nu shu teacher at Pumei Village, and China Birds will have a lesson with her when we visit.

A documentary about nu shu by Yang Yueqing made people aware of it's existance, and some young women have learnt nu shu since then. The Chinese government has encouraged this.